TigreBella wrote:(Who ever knew, though, that I'd go from having meat as my main course to having a piece of fruit as my main course? lol! My mom's still not sure what to think!) It was hard at first, and still is (especially with the temptations of nearby restaurants and desserts in the stores), but I find that it only gets easier over time. Lately, I've been focusing hard on the positives and benefits, and hammering it into my head that I will refuse to go back to my old way of living (gorging on all the food I desire and being overweight)! I've had a major breakthrough, and am finally pushing for a more positive and healthier lifestyle (inside and out).

Exactly! I never actually noticed until I became vegan how many restaurants, especially Asian and Indian, have modified their menus to insure that it is meat-centric. Bento boxes which should have rice or seeds as the center are now gummed up with heavy sauces and chicken for the American consumer. Tandoor recipients being steak and chicken filled! Anyway before I go off on a rant here, I guess it's a good thing since I haven't eaten out in a long time and THIS is probably what detours me from using these places as a convenient way of being lazy and not preparing my own meal.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you've made that psychological breakthrough and wish you all the best on your road to a positive and healthier lifestyle (inside and out).

TigreBella wrote:(Who ever knew, though, that I'd go from having meat as my main course to having a piece of fruit as my main course? lol! My mom's still not sure what to think!) It was hard at first, and still is (especially with the temptations of nearby restaurants and desserts in the stores), but I find that it only gets easier over time. Lately, I've been focusing hard on the positives and benefits, and hammering it into my head that I will refuse to go back to my old way of living (gorging on all the food I desire and being overweight)! I've had a major breakthrough, and am finally pushing for a more positive and healthier lifestyle (inside and out).

Exactly! I never actually noticed until I became vegan how many restaurants, especially Asian and Indian, have modified their menus to insure that it is meat-centric. Bento boxes which should have rice or seeds as the center are now gummed up with heavy sauces and chicken for the American consumer. Tandoor recipients being steak and chicken filled! Anyway before I go off on a rant here, I guess it's a good thing since I haven't eaten out in a long time and THIS is probably what detours me from using these places as a convenient way of being lazy and not preparing my own meal.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you've made that psychological breakthrough and wish you all the best on your road to a positive and healthier lifestyle (inside and out).

Thanks!

Well, for me, it's not really the meat that gets to me. Nearly every restaurant's main meals, if they don't have meat, they at least have cheese (or some form of dairy) or wheat. It upsets me, because even though my husband and I don't eat out much (due to our tight budget and health concerns), we have to search for the foods we CAN have out of all the foods we CAN'T have. I come from a family that ate out very often. I remember my parents couldn't live without going eat out at least three times a week (that'd be hard for me to do now). Even though I avoid meat like the devil (ANY form or type of meat now s me and makes me so sick that I want to vomit just from looking at it), I still have a craving for dishes with cheese in it (though my husband constantly has to gross me out by reminding me that dairy causes me to cough up mucous and make me sick). We've tried to calm my craving by trying soy cheese a couple times, but nothing made from soy is as good as the original for me (except soy milk, which is better). My husband knows not to ever mention cheesecake, or even pass by it in the store, because that was my #1 favorite dessert and now I have to avoid it. lol. Though I know how my mind and body work, and I can't change my lifestyle by not trying hard, because my unhealthy desires will rule over me...I have to make an effort to help force it along (just like my exercise habits), until it all falls into place nicely. That's what happens when we come from lazy unhealthy families, I guess...I have to work hard to clean up the mess they made. lol. At least if I ever have children, they won't have to work as hard to clean up such a mess as I'm doing.

Oh yes! Cheesecake was one of my favorites as well. But cheese in general binds me up, so when I went strict vegetarian, giving up cheese was number one on the list since my digestive wellness wasn't so "well". But your absolutely right about cheese and dairy, it actually concerned me GREATLY that vegetarian menus have cheese, dairy or casein in them and somehow these places feel that this is acceptable. I mean where on the food pyramid or ANYWHERE is dairy a vegetable?

Yeah dairy and meat totally puts a crimp in ANY dating scene I make an attempt to get into. Since I can't just say, "Let's go out to dinner." without there being this long conversation. Or saying, "I know this great Thai house!", that doesn't get turned into the dreaded, "Spicy food doesn't sit well with me!", response. And of course inviting a first date over to the house so I can cook her food or trying to invite myself over to her place to cook her food, seems all too imposing for a first encounter.

Shoot, since I'm on the topic, here's my plea to any interested single females out there "I'll go off my (calorie restricted) diet for you."

LocalBrada wrote:Oh yes! Cheesecake was one of my favorites as well. But cheese in general binds me up, so when I went strict vegetarian, giving up cheese was number one on the list since my digestive wellness wasn't so "well". But your absolutely right about cheese and dairy, it actually concerned me GREATLY that vegetarian menus have cheese, dairy or casein in them and somehow these places feel that this is acceptable. I mean where on the food pyramid or ANYWHERE is dairy a vegetable?

Yeah dairy and meat totally puts a crimp in ANY dating scene I make an attempt to get into. Since I can't just say, "Let's go out to dinner." without there being this long conversation. Or saying, "I know this great Thai house!", that doesn't get turned into the dreaded, "Spicy food doesn't sit well with me!", response. And of course inviting a first date over to the house so I can cook her food or trying to invite myself over to her place to cook her food, seems all too imposing for a first encounter.

Shoot, since I'm on the topic, here's my plea to any interested single females out there "I'll go off my (calorie restricted) diet for you."

lol, yeah! Cheese does affect me greatly, yet I have this strong desire for it. My husband and I joked about it, because I thought that if I could let my desires rule me, that my desires would cause me to kill over from eating too much cheesecake. (Which, I guess isn't that funny. I used to sometimes eat a WHOLE cheesecake in one sitting, and I'm talking the big ones not the small personal ones. I can't believe how unhealthy I used to be!)

Haha! Yeah, I'd imagine so. Spicy food doesn't agree well with me anymore either. I come from a Cajun French family, too, mind you...and I have lost my lust for spicy foods! I dare not tell my family back home about THAT one! I used to handle spicy foods so much better than ANYONE in my family (heck, I'd drink hot spicy salsa just for the heck of it). Now, I can barely handle many medium salsas. My husband and I stick with mild salsa when we eat chips now.

Hey, hey, hey! Don't you start trying to pick up single women in here! *wiggles finger at you* Don't you know there's a dating section for that? lol!

I've a question for you as I've seen you've consistently consumed 1-2 avocados a day. Have you noticed any or an increase in the amount of pimples you have?

The reason why I ask is I rarely get pimples and the only thing that I've changed is I'm taking a vegetarian joint pill 3 times a day with avocados as a source of MSM. I like it since it has reduced the "clicking" I have in my left wrist and right shoulder. I might reduce the amount I intake, but 3 servings of it seems to be the sweet spot for my old injury.

LocalBrada wrote:I've a question for you as I've seen you've consistently consumed 1-2 avocados a day. Have you noticed any or an increase in the amount of pimples you have?

The reason why I ask is I rarely get pimples and the only thing that I've changed is I'm taking a vegetarian joint pill 3 times a day with avocados as a source of MSM. I like it since it has reduced the "clicking" I have in my left wrist and right shoulder. I might reduce the amount I intake, but 3 servings of it seems to be the sweet spot for my old injury.

Anyway, I await your response with baited breath.

Not as far as I know. I've always had a similar amount of pimples (except for a few exceptions, such as times when I lose weight). Even before I started eating avocados like crazy, lol. I've tried to get answers, but everywhere I search online, I find it's either a symptom of lactose intolerance or a detox symptom or this or that...so I just said screw it and figure maybe if it's from something I'm doing wrong that my body will let me know sooner or later. Until then, I'm just considering it as detox symptoms. Which is reasonable to assume, because when I lose so much weight at a time, I find I've got a bit more pimples and in other lower places they aren't usually in, such as my chest or near my hips (they usually just cover the top portion of my back and my shoulders, along with my face). And I've read that as the body burns excess stored fat, that supposedly the toxins that were stored there from a past unhealthy diet are suddenly freed from the fat and cause havoc in the body until the body can eliminate them. So, sounds like a reasonable explanation to me. And I don't know your situation, but since I've only been Vegan for a few months so far, I'm sure it's most likely a form of detox. Until I find out otherwise.

Sounds logical, I figured it was a detox, but also figured it was from the avocados. Since I've been losing fat consistently for awhile now. I did read in the raw food forums, some gal who all of a sudden got pimples from adding avocados and coconut oil to her diet.

Anyway thanks for the quick response. Also has anyone else commented on how low of a caloric value your diet is? I don't want to detour you from your current diet, but to me your diet seems to be too low calorically. Also how is your insulin levels with the amount of fructose you're consuming. Are you taking a multivitamin?

LocalBrada wrote:Sounds logical, I figured it was a detox, but also figured it was from the avocados. Since I've been losing fat consistently for awhile now. I did read in the raw food forums, some gal who all of a sudden got pimples from adding avocados and coconut oil to her diet.

Anyway thanks for the quick response. Also has anyone else commented on how low of a caloric value your diet is? I don't want to detour you from your current diet, but to me your diet seems to be too low calorically. Also how is your insulin levels with the amount of fructose you're consuming. Are you taking a multivitamin?

Yeah, I seen that post, too. I don't know. The problem is, I can't say what it could be for her, or for you, as no one knows you better than yourself...everyone's different, so we may or may not be able to relate our situations. One person may just be having reactions to avocados and coconut oil, while another may be detoxing. We may never know. (Isn't it funny how life does that to us? Life is so full of unknowns. )

I have no idea if she was losing fat around the time she got pimples, so I can't say if it'd be related to detox or not. I can guess that if you've been losing fat, then it may be detox, but I won't guarantee something I don't know is true.

Not that I know of, but I honestly don't even obsess over caloric intake or anything. I checked one day, and estimated it to be about 600-something calories for the day, but I'm not forcing myself to eat or not eat. I'm going by what I feel my body wants, and eating only when I start to feel hungry. Besides that, I drink water and tea throughout the day to make sure I keep hydrated. I don't know about my insulin levels, as I don't bother paying an arm and a leg to get things checked (unless it's something serious, like an emergency). Though if I had any problems, I trust that my body would give off some type of symptoms or warnings. I've researched about raw fruits and fructose and protein and such, and believe (in my opinion) that fruits are the best food our body can use to convert into energy. I find that I still have more energy than I had in the past, and with eating less food and feeling more lighter (and no longer feel stuffed and bloated). So yeah, unless I start feeling different (in a bad way), I'd imagine I'm pretty healthy and don't need to bother with calorie counting or such (I always like to keep things simple, anyway, lol). As for multivitamins, yes, I'm taking a women's multivitamin for now. Any more questions?

Man, I just had this craving for strawberries when we went by the store today, so we just had to pick some up. My husband wanted to get bananas, too, so we decided to make a smoothie out of them. Anyways...

I didn't do a full hour of exercises today like I wanted to, but that's because I got worn out sooner. My husband and I were having a little fun, and we ended up lifting each other up and down a couple times like if we were lifting weights. (He weighs a little more than 100 pounds, like 105 or so, so I find it amazing I was even able to pick him up without much of a problem! ) So, yeah, I definitely feel it a little in my legs right now! lol. Anyways...